STAFF from Blaenavon’s Big Pit National Coal Museum have staged the first of their weekend industrial action over disputes to weekend pay for Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union members.

All underground tours were cancelled on Saturday and Sunday, while the museum operated reduced hours and only opened from 1pm both days.

Further action is planned over the forthcoming weekends, with partial closures from 9am to 1pm and no underground tours at Big Pit on April 16 and 17, April 23 and 24, and May 1.

On Saturday, April 30, the museum will be fully closed as part of a planned demonstration featuring union members in Cardiff.

The dispute, which started two years ago, with Amgueddfa Cymru/National Museum Wales over proposed changes to weekend working allowances, also known as premium payments.

Premium payments are an allowance paid to eligible museum staff on top of basic salary, for working Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, which are no longer paid by most other Welsh public bodies or national museums.

PCS Wales secretary, Shavanah Taj, said: “We are dealing with a senior management team in the museum who have consistently used heavy-handed tactics to undermine legitimate industrial action.

“They have increasingly relied on calling in pool staff on zero-hours contracts to defeat strikes, despite the fact that these people often have no training in safeguarding the priceless collections for which they are given responsibility.”

Ms Taj added: “The museum bosses showed no commitment to negotiate with us when we met recently and are now putting pressure on individual staff to accept the loss of weekend payments, or face potential dismissal and re-engagement.

“These tactics will not break the resolve of our members, who are determined to secure a just settlement of this dispute.”

The industrial action will affect museums in Cardiff, Swansea, Llanberis and Drefach.

Caerleon’s National Roman Legion Museum remains unaffected.